First of all, you know those cards they send you to stuff in invites and such? Be forewarned that a lot of people tend to think they’re tacky and gift-grabby. Of course, you know your guests best, but I personally just threw them away. I spread my registry through word-of-mouth, and let people come to me. To me, that says that I’m not expecting anyone to give me a gift, but if someone wants to I’ll let them know what we’d like.

If you want to make it easy on guests, I would choose a store that’s easily available to everyone. I registered at Bed Bath & Beyond, because I both love it and see it everywhere. Some people choose a couple of different stores.

From there, just go to town. I made sure to have a variety of price points, so that people could choose what they were comfortable with spending. I also have a couple of big-ticket items, in case anyone wanted to go in on it with other people. I’ve registered for things we need, appliances we could upgrade, and things we can use when we buy our house and start hosting people. In all, the amount is a little more than the number of people attending, which I think is good in case anyone buys up multiple little items.

@trc: i would suggest Macys as well as bbandb! Macys has a registry rewards program. You get a certain percentage (i think 5) of what people bought off your registry after the wedding in the form of a gc to spend on whatever you like!!

I kept an ongoing list at the house as we thought of stuff we needed. I took that list with us to Macy’s and BB&B. Yes, Macy’s has a great rewards program (even better if you have a Macy’s card). Keep in mind to register for a huge range of prices. Some guests can’t afford to spend $50 and some may want to spend $200. So try to balance low, middle, and higher priced items. And don’t be shy about putting something untraditional or incredibly expensive on it – you never know, someone just might get it for you.

First, ignore pretty much everything the sales people tell you. They will tell you that you should register for something like 3 times the number of guests you have, that you should register for more expensive things because people will want to buy you nice things, that you need to register for specific things (such as china, crystal), that the little cards they give you are perfect for invitations, etc. Just ignore it all and do the following:

-Tell the sales/registry people that you know what you want and that if you have any questions you’ll find them. Don’t let them walk around with you. Don’t be afraid to be firm.

-Register for what you need: don’t register for more things just to reach some magical number.

-Have a variety of price points. People’s budgets vary and you don’t want to put anyone out if you don’t have anything for under $50. At the same time, it’s definitely ok to register for $200 china or a $500 Dyson.

-The little registry cards they give you are great for showers, but should not go in the wedding invitation.

-Avoid cash/HM/House registries. Asking for cash is rude. Besides, people know it’s a good gift.

-Don’t register for personal items (clothes, make-up, equipment for a hobby only one of you enjoys) but feel free to register for more untraditional gifts, such as camping equipment or board games, if it’s something you both enjoy.

-If you don’t have any, register for luggage. Tools are also a good thing to register for.

-Stay away from entertainment eletronics (iPad, TV, DVDs, etc). A reasonably priced camera or 1 gaming system is probably ok. But you don’t want a registry full of HD TVs, iPods, DVDs, Blu Ray players, etc. It tends to make one look greedy.

From the guest perspective… Mr. B & I jokingly refer to ourselves as “Professional Wedding Guests” (we went to 7 of 8 last year & have 9 this year so far). One of the things that bugs me is receiving zero indication of any registies. I know people say “it’s frowned upon” or “in poor taste” but giving a wedding gift is standard and everyone expects the existince of a registry. I hate having to go all internet detective and try to locate potential registries because the bride and groom were afraid of appearing “gift-grabby”. I’d personally rather it be included somewhere than for me to have to call a bride to bother her with a little detail such as “where are you registered?”